Power of Art

Power of Art

  Power of art is a documentary on Rembrandt, his life and career as an artist. Rembrandts worked in the Amsterdam 1630s. He was Born to a family of millers in Leiden. He was one of 9 children who went to Latin school and dropped out at the age of 14 to become a painter.

  Rembrandt made his own oil paints and was known for his spectacular portraits. He also made portraits of himself. The 1^st one when he was 20. Rembrandt wasn’t interested in refinement and beauty. He did realistic art of flesh and blood, art that told the truth about the existing human condition.

  Rembrandt painted portraits of rich people, as they wanted to be portrayed and he manipulated them very well. He painted theses portraits so well as if he was a psychologist of the humans condition. He painted the faces people put on to the world. He told stories through his paintings.

  He was one of the most successful and greatest painters. Rembrandt married Saskia and made drawings of her. His troubles grew and Saskia suffered from tuberculosis which eventually led to he death in 1642. From being the talk of the town he became criticised by his peers. Everything then changed for Rembrandt and his work. He then painted with simplicity and his drawings just had a few lines. His critics then saw him as old fashioned because sophistication had become important in Holland at that time.

  Rembrandt was getting darker. He abolished the difference between a sketch and a painting. He eventually became bankrupt and also lost his house but still he painted himself as I king in riches. He then painted gory paintings of an animal slaughtered. 

 He was later asked to paint for the New Amsterdam Town hall. He painted a rebellion painting that was wild. His painting came down. The Claudius Civilis was the ruin of his comeback and greatest vision.

 Rembrandt then painted the real people of who they are and have always been.

He did rough and tough paintings.

  From this documentary I noticed that various artists represent the body in different ways and forms. People put on a disguise outside and hide their true selves and when these true selves are exposed they go into denial and cannot face reality thus criticise. Just like how when Rembrandt refined and beautified his portraits of people they were happy and pleased with his work but as soon as he made portraits of them, who they are and who they’ve always been he was criticised and rejected.